Pampa Energía will invest 550 million dollars to increase gas production in Vaca Muerta

Pampa Energythe third gas producer in the Neuquén basin, in Argentinaplans to invest 550 million dollars in 2023 to increase its unconventional production in the formation Dead cowsaid the president of the company, Marcelo Mindlin.

In an enormous expanse of Patagonian steppe, Mindlin traveled the Sierra Chata depositin Vaca Muerta -one of the world’s largest reserves of “shale” gas and oil-, and explained that the company plans to buy a fracture set to guarantee the growth of its production.

The formation of hydrocarbons is essential for Argentina to reverse its energy deficit, which has led to negative fiscal figures and financial instability, for which the Government launched a plan to stimulate gas producers -known as the Gas Plan- and the construction of a trunk gas pipeline that will initially link Vaca Muerta with Buenos Aires.

On Friday, the Government published in the official bulletin the extension of the Gas Plan until 2028 with the aim of replacing part of gas imports in the coming austral winter.

Pampa Energía points to both projects.

“All the potential that we talked about in Vaca Muerta is already beginning to materialize,” the executive told reporters.

The company will invest “not only in wells, but also by importing a fracturing set because for the amount of activity that is going to take place in the Vaca Muerta zone, the fracturing sets that we have in the country today are not enough,” Mindlin explained.

Pampa went from producing one million cubic meters per day in 2016, when it bought Petrobras, to 7 million cubic meters per day in 2021. This year it increased its production by 60% to 11 million cubic meters and plans to reach 15 million cubic meters. cubic per day in 2023, detailed the executive.

The transport of the largest production will require the Néstor Kirchner gas pipeline, whose construction was tendered this year by the Government and with which the country hopes to leave behind a deficit in the energy trade balance of close to 6,000 million dollars in 2022, according to analysts. .

Mindlin, also a shareholder of the construction company Sacde, which together with the Techint group won the tender for the construction of part of the first section of the gas pipeline, said that he hopes to meet the deadlines and have that first stage completed in June 2023, which would come to Salliqueló, in the west of the province of Buenos Aires.

With the first stage, the country will increase its transportation capacity by 11 million cubic meters per day.

“We are optimistic that we will get there,” said Mindlin, who explained that the most “critical” stage of the work will begin towards the end of the month, which is the welding of the pipes, which will be done through two automatic welding machines.

“The calculations (…) say that by producing 11 million cubic meters more, instead of importing it, we will be saving next year from 2,500 to 3,000 million dollars,” he added.